A 19-year-old and a 16-year-old girls, adherents of the banned religious extremist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, were detained on suspicion of deliberately destroying the national flag of Kyrgyzstan. The press center of the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic (SCNS) reported.
The security officers noted that they also detected an underground women’s network of the terrorist organization, where its participants were engaged in recruitment.
«Deliberate burning of state flags of the Kyrgyz Republic was registered on the night of May 30, 2024 in Bek-Abad village, Suzak district of Jalal-Abad region, followed by their replacement with white flags with Arabic text. On June 1, as a result of joint activities of the SCNS and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the organizers and perpetrators of the arson of state symbols were identified. They turned out to be 19-year-old and 16-year-old residents of Bek-Abad village, who are members of the religious extremist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir,» the statement says.
The SCNS added that the detained 19-year-old girl joined the ranks of Hizb ut-Tahrir in 2022. In the spring of 2023, she began to independently recruit new adherents from among the residents of her native village. In the fall of 2023, she recruited 16-year-old girl into the ranks of the organization.
«The 19-year-old detainee, a member of the women’s wing of Bekabad cell of the organization, has been hatching the idea of replacing and setting flags on fire since January 2024. She told her accomplice about this. In order to commit the crime in the spring of 2024, they purchased a white cloth at Bereke market in the city of Jalal-Abad and black markers at the market in Bek-Abad village. On May 29, both participants prepared white flags with Arabic inscriptions and on the night of May 30 replaced the state flags of the Kyrgyz Republic on the main gates of schools No. 4 and No. 88 in the village of Bek-Abad. Then they burned the country’s symbols,» the SCNS said.
In addition, close relatives of the 19-year-old girl, who are also members of Hizb ut-Tahrir and who knew about her criminal plans, were detained.
The mother of the girl— 45-year-old woman and her 29-year-old brother were detained. Her father was previously prosecuted for possession of extremist materials. Currently he is working in the Russian Federation.
The SCNS added that 16-year-old girl grew up without parents under the guardianship of a relative, while the girl’s family adheres to traditional Islam.
During the investigation, it was established that the organizer of the crime was trained in extremist ideology by two other residents of Bek-Abad village.
The houses of the mentors were searched and extremist literature was found. All the detainees were charged with membership in the banned extremist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir. Some of them were additionally charged with possession of extremist literature with intent to distribute it.
The organizers of the arson were also charged with destruction of state symbols. All detainees were arrested until the end of the investigation.
